NYC-WTC_000195741

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

protection and lodge deep inside the lungs. An extended commentary by Dr. Cahill on these topics was made at the February 23,2002 EPA National Ombudsman Hearing in New York City.*'*

It stands to reason that if there were problems related to outdoor air, problems related to indoor air would necessarily arise. An EPA Region II Spokesperson acknowledged that very point when she said recently, “We [the EPA] have from the start been clear that what we found on the outside was likely to have gotten inside people’s apartments.”*^

The EPA Misleads Further

The EPA also misled the public about air quality by mischaracterizing its own data and ignoring or withholding other critical data that contradicted Ms. Whitman’s assurances of air safety. Ms. Whitman’s statement, which continues to be echoed repeatedly by agency officials at every level of government, was made even as EPA officials possessed evidence that contradicted her statement.

Ms. Whitman’s statement mischaracterizes EPA’s own data. For example, in a January 25, 2002 speech given by Walter Mugdan, EPA Region II Counsel, he states, “.. .a significant number of the WTC bulk dust samples that we analyzed did have more than 1% asbestos.”*® If a significant number of those dust samples did have more asbestos than the EPA's own so-called "clearance level," it stands to reason that the environment is not safe.

Further, in a document detailing information provided by EPA Region II in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project cites numerous examples of data points that exceeded EPA “levels of concern.” ’ Joel Kupferman, Executive Director of the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project (in addition to other experts) has stated repeatedly that these details contradict Ms. Whitman’s safety assurances.*® A 22-year veteran of the EPA’s Hazardous Waste Identification Division, Dr. Cate Jenkins, has issued a memo

^“Official Transcript,” EPA National Ombudsman First Investigative Hearing on World Trade Center Hazardous Waste Contamination,” February 23, 2002, testimony of Dr. Thomas Cahill, Professor, University of California at Davis, p. 15-72. ’’ Jones, Charisse, “Anxieties Over Toxins Rise at Ground Zero,” U.S.A Today, February 7,2002. Mugdan, Walter, Regional Counsel U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2, “Environmental Law Issues Raised by Terrorist Events in 2001,” January 2002, p. 13. New York Environmental Law and Justice Project, “World Trade Center Incident Environmental Health Concerns: Information Provided by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II in Response to FOIA Request Submitted by New York Environmental Law and Justice Project. Work in Progress.” See website www.nyenvirolaw.org. *’ Gonzales, Juan, “A Toxic Nightmare at Disaster Site: Air, Water, Soil Contaminated,” New York Daily News, October 26,2001.

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